Vertical venetian blind



April 23, 1963 w. HOUMERE VERTICAL VENETIAN BLIND 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 31, 1959 INVENTOR M4175? flaw/4%:

, v j ,4770/F/UEXJ' A ril 23, 1963 w. HOUMERE 3,086,534

VERTICAL VENETIAN BLIND Filed July 31, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

W44 75/? flommef April 23, 1963 w. HOUMERE 3,086,584

VERTICAL VENETIAN BLIND Filed July 31, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 In, F H- I I N VENTOR. M4170? fla /fife:

United ees o 3,086,584 VERTICAL VENETIAN BLIND Walter Houmere, E. 8th St., New York 3, NY. Filed July 31, 1959, Ser. No. 830,938 14 Claims. (1. 160-168) The present invention relates to Venetian blind structures and particularly to a Venetian blind structure in which the closeable members are vertically oriented.

More particularly, this invention relates to a blind in which the vertically oriented strips or slats are simultaneously rotated in an arc of substantially 180 degrees and raised and lowered in an easy and positive manner.

Vertically oriented Venetian blinds offer many advantages over conventional horizontal Venetian blinds, such as providing more flexibility in admitting or preventing sunlight from entering and allowing the blind to be flush against or even overlapping the sides of the window sash thus eliminating any openings between the sides of the window and the blind. However, vertically oriented blinds have not been widely used due to the diificulties in raising and lowering of the vertically oriented strips simultaneously as well as the difiiculty of simultaneously changing the orientation of the vertical strips uniformly. In an attempt to overcome the difficulty of raising the vertical strips, the vertical strips were made of cloth or other non-rigid material and were rolled up in a manner similar to the conventional window shade. This type of blind did not present a neat appearance in either its rolled or unrolled position, soiled easily and proved difficult to keep stationary when in the unrolled position due to its non-rigidity. Further. difficulty arose in keeping the strips separated upon the blind being rolled up. Another difiioulty of the vertical blind heretofore used was that elaborate and costly means were required to uniformly vary the orientation of the vertical strips for admitting or shutting out light. Often times these means required several operations to uniformly position the strips in their desired orientation. Also, if privacy were desired and the vertical strips were placed in their fully closed position, and the windows were open, any breeze would cause the vertical strips to separate, thereby making any privacy uncertain.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a Venetian blind structure having a series of strips extending vertically and being uniformly rotatable about their vertical axis for admitting or shutting out light, which rotation is controlled by rotating a horizontal supporting member so that each individual vertical strip is positively and uniformly rotated.

It is another object of this invention to provide a Venetian blind structure in which all the blind strips rotate in the same direction about their vertical axes during opening and closing rotational movement, thus assuring that the individual strips may be moved into position to block the entrance of light rays while still permitting free ingress of air.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a Venetian blind structure in which rigid vertical slats are raised to remove the blind from the field of view and lowered uniformly by a single control mechanism.

Another object is to provide a blind for use outside of windows or porch areas which prevents the suns rays from entering the interior of the building, thus reducing need for air conditioning units.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for rotating a plurality of parallel individual strips uniformly about their longitudinal axes in a positive uniform manner by a simple control mechanrsm.

A still further object is to provide a structure which 3,086,584 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 accomplishes all of the above and yet is simple to use, relatively inexpensive to fabricate, reliable in operation and adapted to be constructed in many styles.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent when the following description is taken in connection with the annexed drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a blind according to the present invention in place in a window casing being partially raised and in its closed position;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of an individual strip illustrating one embodiment of sectional construction thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 3'3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view illustrating one mode of suspending the vertical strips to the upper horizontal supporting member, showing the strips in their fully closed position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 4 illustrating the vertical strips in their partially open position;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrating the vertical strips in their fully open position;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 143- 10 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 11 is a front elevational view of an individual strip showing an alternate manner of joining the individual sections of a vertical strip;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 12-12 of FIG; 11;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along line 1313 of FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view showing the apparatus for movably guiding the adjacent sections of the vertical strip of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a diagrammatic perspective view of a further embodiment of the mechanism for raising and lowering the vertical strips;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary elevational view of a further embodiment for rotating the vertical strips;

FIG. 17 is a view taken along line 17-17 of FIG. 16; and

FIG. 18 is a view similar to FIG. 16 showing the strips in a different orientation.

Referring now to the drawings: There is shown in FiG. 1 a front view of a blind structure in accordance with the present invention mounted in a window. The blind structure as shown consists of a plurality of identical vertically oriented strips or slats, each designated generally as =11. It should be not-ed that in FIG. 1 there are nine such strips shown but this is merely illustrative and the number of strips may be increased or decreased, depending on the width of the window to be covered and the width of the individual strips 11. Strips 11 are preferably made of a relatively light weight, rigid material such as plastic, aluminum, fibreboard, glass fibers, etc.

Strips 11 are suspended in a manner described hereinafter from a horizontal cross arm or supporting member 12 which is mounted to the upper side portion of a window casing 10.

Cross-arm 12 has two horizontally disposed elements or arms 13 and 14 pivotally interconnected by means of hinges 19, only one of which is shown. Arm 13 is nonrotatably supported in a plane substantially parallel to the window in any convenient manner such as by supporting its ends by brackets or pins which are fastened to aoeasea window casing 10 as indicated diagrammatically in FIG. 1 or, if desired, arm l13 may be hung from the upper horizontal strip of window casing 10 by straps. Preferably the brackets or pins supporting arm 13 are so constructed as to make it possible to remove arm 13 without disturbing the brackets or supporting members. This provides for ease of installation, since the brackets or support members may be first installed and arm 13 thereafter slipped into place.

Arm 14 is adapted to be rotated about hinges 19 by any convenient means. One embodiment, shown in FIG. 4, is a worm and gear arrangement well known in the art, designated generally at 21. The worm, not shown, is rotated by means of a drum 37 having a knurled V- shaped groove in the outer periphery thereof, which groove is adequate to receive a cord 39 which lies therein, and which cord 39 is used to control the rotation of drum 37. Fastened to one end of the worm is one leg of an L- shaped lever 41 with the other leg of lever 41 fixedly mounted to the end of arm 14 adjacent the worm and gear arrangement 21.

Strips 11 are uniformly rotated about their respective vertical axis by a positive, simple to operate mechanism. While the following discussion will be with respect to one strip 11, it will be applicable for all strips 11. Each strip 11 has extending from the top thereof, a ribbon 15, with the extending end of each ribbon 15 communicating with one leg 16a of a respective L-shaped pin 16 in a manner to be described. The other leg, 16b, of pin 16 is rotatably mounted on arm 14 of cross-arm 12 so that the intersection of leg 16a and leg 16b of L-shaped pin 16 lies in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of arms 13 and 14 :and passing through the pivotal line there- 'between as seen best in FIGS. 6 and 10. For best results leg 16]; is preferably placed on the surface of arm 14 along a line 45 to the longitudinal axis of arm 14. It is desirable that ribbon 15 will be made of a material that is rigid but having some flexibility for converting the rotational movement of pin 16 to rotational movement in the vertical plane. While the ribbons 15 are shown and described as separate from strips 11, they may be elongations or tabs of strips 11.

Ribbon 15 is mounted to vertical strip 11 in any convenient manner in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, ribbon 15 is secured to strip 11 by means of an elongated rod 26 which extends from both sides of a pocket or loop formed at one end of ribbon 15. The upper edge of strip 11 has a rectangular notch or undercut portion 28 therein. Notch 28 has a width slightly larger than the width of ribbon 15 and has a depth slightly greater than the depth of the loop in ribbon 15 so that upon the end of ribbon 15 being received in notch 28 the extending ends of rod 26 extend into pockets formed in strip 11 adjacent the upper edge thereof. For uniform relative movement of strips 11 about their longitudinal axis, the longitudinal axis of each strip 11 should be coincident to the pivoting line of a hinge means 17 described herein-after.

Ribbon 15 is secured in any convenient manner to free leg 16a of L-shaped pin l16 as long as the longitudinal axis of vertical strips 11 lie in a vertical plane. A preferred method of accomplishing this is shown in FIG. 4, and 10.

Leg 16a of L-shaped pin 16 is rotoatably secured to one arm of a hinged member 17. The other arm of hinged member 17 is fixedly secured to the inner surface of arm 13. Hinged member 17 is positioned on arm 13 so that its pivoting line lies in a plane transverse to arm 13 and passing through the point of intersection of legs 16:: and 16b of L-shaped pin 16. As shown in the drawings hinged member 17 is a flexible substantially rectangular flap of material having a loop at one end in which leg 16a is received. If desired hinge member 17 may be of more rigid material, such as a conventional of pulleys 44 and 45.

4 type metal hinge. The opposite end of flap 17 is fixedly secured to arm 13 by staples, nails, glue or the like so that upon flap 17 being flexed by movement of pin 16, the flexing line lies in a plane transverse to arm 13 and which plane passes through the point of intersection of legs 16a and 16b of pin 16.

If desired ribbon 15 may be made from a substantially rigid material having a loop at its extending end through which leg 16a of pin 16 is received and the vertical extending edge of ribbon 15 adjacent the surface of arm 13 being hingedly retained thereto.

To provide for easy raising or lowering of the blind unit, each strip 11 is composed of a plurality of sections designated 50a through 502 as seen in FIG. 1 with each abutting section being in slidable relation with each other. While the construction of only one strip 11 will be described for each embodiment, the description will apply to each strip 11 of the blind unit equally as Well.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, each section of 50a through Site as seen in FIGURE 1, telescopically receives its lower adjoining section with the exception, of course, of the bottom-most section 5%. Each adjoining end of each of the intermediate sections, 5012, 50c and 50d has a thickened edge or lip 51 projecting from the inner and outer surfaces respectively. Section 56a has a lip 51 projecting inwardly from the inner surface of its lowermost end, and section 5% has a lip 51 projecting outwardly from its outer surface of its upper end. Strips 56a through 502 are assembled so that the abutting ends of two consecutive sections have their respective lips Slextending from an inner and outer surface respectively for coaction, as seen best in FIGURE 3. The section that slides into the adjoining section has its lip 51 on its outer surface and the section that receives the adjoining section has its lip 51 on its inner surface. This alternate placement of projecting lips 51 on adjoining ends of adjacent sections 59 is repeated throughout each strip 11 in the blind unit, so that the thickened edges or lips 51 interact upon strip 11, being in its fully extended position to prevent separation of adjacent sections.

Suspended from strips 11 is a lower cross arm member 25 which aids keeping strips 11 taut and under definite control at their lower edges. Cross arm member 25 also aids to impart uniform up-and-down movement of strips 11 in a manner described below. In one embodiment, cross arm member 25 is guided for up-and-down movement by means of a guide cord 23, having its ends attached to opposite ends of cross arm member 25, as shown in FIG. 1. Guide cord 23 extends upwardly from each end of cross arm 25 and is received by pulleys 40, which are fixed to the upper side members on window frame 10. From pulleys 4t guide cord 23 passes through a conventional cord locking or holding device with the remaining loop or end portion of guide cord 23 hanging freely for use as a pull cord indicated at 24.

A further embodiment for raising and lowering the blind unit is shown schematically in FIG. 15. At each end of the upper portion of window casing 16 is a pair of pulleys 41 and 42, 44 and 45, respectively, which are rotatably supported. Pulleys 41, 42, 44 and 45 are substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of cross arm 12. Pulleys 41 and 44 are aligned in the same parallel plane and pulleys 42 and 4-5 are likewise in the same parallel plane. Rotatably supported at opposite ends of the lowermost portions of window casing 10 in planes transverse to the planes in which pulleys 41, 42, 44 and 45 lie, are pulleys 47 and 48 respectively. Pulley 47 is transverse to pulleys and 42, having its opposite peripheral cord receiving surfaces aligned with the peripheral cord re ceiving surfaces of pulleys 41 and 42 respectively. Similarly, pulley 48 is transverse to pulleys 44 and 45, having its opposite peripheral cord receiving surfaces aligned respectively with the peripheral cord receiving surfaces A continuous guide cord 49 is passed about pulleys 41, 42, 44, 45, 47 and 48, in a manner shown in FIG. 15. Starting at pulley 41, guide cord '49 is passed downwardly about pulley 47, up from pulley 47 and about pulley 42 to pulley 45, around pulley 45 and down to pulley 48, around pulley 48 and up to pulley 44 and then over to pulley 41. Guide cord 49 is fixedly secured in any convenient manner to the opposite ends of bottom cross arm member 25 of the blind unit. Blind unit may be raised from either end of win dow casing by merely pulling guide cord 49 upwardly at the end most convenient to raise the blind unit, or pulling guide cord 49 downwardly to lower blind unit. The blind unit remains in whatever position it is moved due to the frictional sliding of individual strips SOa-Stle in collapsing the blind unit. However any convenient means may be used to hold the blind unit at the desired height such as a frictional brake (not shown) between pairs of pulleys 41-42 and 44- 15.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, upper arm 14 of upper cross arm 12 is abutting lower arm 13. With cross arm 12 in this position, vertical strips 11 are caused to lie substantially parallel to the plane of the window or are in their fully closed position with adjacent vertical edges overlapping, thus preventing any light from entering. To open the blind a downward force is exerted on cord 39', rotating drum 37 which in turn rotates lever 41. Lever 41 urges arm 14 away from arm 13 in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. 5.

Leg 16b of pin 16 is rotatably secured to arm 14 of cross arm 12 and describes the surface of a segment of a right circular cone having its axis coincident to the pivotal line of arms 13 and 14 of cross arm 12, as well as rotating about its own axis. As leg 16b of pin 16 describes the surface of a segment of this right circular cone,

leg 16a is caused to describe the surface of a segment of a right circular cone having its axis transverse to the axis of the cone generated by leg 16b and also to the axis of cross arm 12 and passing through the intersection of legs 16:! and 16b of pin 16. With arm 14 rotating 180 about arm 13, the conical surface generated by leg 16b is one half the surface of a right circular cone and contacts the conical surface generated by leg 16a along a slant height line.

As mentioned above the axis of leg 16b of pin 16 is preferably 45 to the longitudinal axis of arm 14. This position gives the best leverage for moving strips 11 with a given amount of force applied to arm 14. Legs 16a and 16b of pin 16 preferably are at right angles to avoid bin-ding with ribbon 15 or hinge 17.

As leg 16a of pin 16 is caused to rotate away from the face of arm 13, the portion of flap 17, adjacent leg 16a is also rotated. Since a portion of flap 17 is fixedly secured to arm 13, flap 1'7 is vertically rotated about line 53 which is coincident to the axis of the cone generated by leg 16a mentioned above. Ribbon 15 being securely mounted to the pivoting portion of flap 17 is rotated in a manner similar to flap 17 and transmits this rotation to its attached strip 11. As shown in FIGS. 6

and. 9, strips 11 are perpendicular to the plane of the window or to a vertical plane passing through the longitudinal axis of cross arm 12, or in other words are in their fully open position, or about 90 degrees displaced from the closed position shown in FIGS. 4 and 7. It is to benoted that rotation of arm 14 about hinges 19 is not directly proportional to the rotation of leg 16a of pin 16. Leg 16a of pin 16 is rotated through a greater are with a smaller angular movement of arm 14 upon arm 14 being rotated between 180 to 90 with respect to arm 13 than between 90 to abutting arm 13.

As seen in FIGS. 4 and 7 strips 11 are in their fully closed position when arms 13 and 14 are abutting. Upon arm 14 being rotated 90 from arm 13 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, legs 16a, hence a strip 11 which is attached thereto, is moved about 45 from the surface of arm 13. Upon arm 14 being rotated about 135 degrees away from arm 13 as shown in FIGS. 6, 9 and 10, leg 16a and strips 11 are rotated about from the surface of leg 13 so that strips 11 are in their maximum open position. Leg 16a also is rotated about 90 upon arm 14 being rotated from 180 to about leg 13 if quick movement of strips 11 is desired.

To raise or lower blind 10, portion 24 of cord 23 is pulled, thereby lifting bottom cross-arm 25 by means of cord 23 over pulleys 40. Upward movement of cross-arm 25 in turn progressively telescopes the sections of each strip, starting from the lower section, 5% as seen in FIG. 1 on upward. As shown in FIG. 2, section 50a and 50b are fully extended, whereas next lower section 500 is partially telescoped into 50b. Cord locking means which are well known in the art assure that blind 10 will remain where set. When the cord locking or securing means isreleased, blind 10 may be lowered due to the Weight of bottom cross-arm 21, with the individual sections progressively extending to their full length with the thickened end portions 51 of each section abutting, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

With the raising or lowering embodiment shown in FIG. 15, continuous pull cord 49 on either side of the blind unit is raised or lowered to raise or lower respectively the blind unit. Generally no cord locking device is required since the blind unit remains where positioned due to the frictional contact between lip 51 on the juxtaposed surfaces of the adjoining section as shown in FIG. 3. If desired, bottom cross arm 25 may be weighted so as to urge the blind unit continuously downwardly thus necessitating a cord locking means.

In FIGS. 11 through 14 an alternate method is shown of collapsing strips 11 for up-and'down movement of the shade unit. Each strip 11 has a plurality of sections 71 of equal length. Along the center line of each section 71 is a narrow strip of resilient material 72, such as cloth or plastic, fixedly attached thereto, along the center line of strip 72 so that the center lines of sections 71 and and strips 72 are coincident and the edges of each strip 72 are movable with respect to its juxtaposed section 71. Fixedly secured on opposite faces at each abutting end of each section 71 are brackets 76. Each bracket 76 has outwardly extending and bent-over arms 77 and 78.

'As seen best in FIGS. 12. and 14 bracket 76 is of such size as to receive tape 72 so that arms 77 and 78 partially encircle the edges of strip 72. Two adjoining sections 71 of strips 11 each have their brackets 76 receive the tape 72 of the adjoining section 71 therein as seen in FIGS. 11 and 13. This construction allows each section 71 to slide longitudinally with respect to its adjacent section 71, so as to collapse each strip 11 into a length substantially equal to one section 71 when-the blind unit is in its open or up position. Other embodiments for collapsing strips 11 may be devised such as mating edge slides in the shape of an S.

A further embodiment for rotating strips 11 is shown in FIGS. 16, 17 and 18. Legs 102a of an L-shaped pin 102 is suitably secured to arm 13, preferably having the axis of leg 102a at 45 to the longitudinal axis of arm 13. Leg 102a extends beyond the lower longitudinal edge of arm 13. Leg 102b is kept in sliding contact with the inner surface of arm 14 such as by a bracket 103. R0- tating arm 14 in a manner described above slides leg 102b along the surface of arm 14 thereby rotating leg 102a of pin 102. Leg 102b describes the surface of a portion of a right angle cone having its axis transverse to the axis of arm 14 and intersecting the point of intersection of legs 102a and 102b. Strips 11 are connected to legs 102a of pins 102 in any convenient manner such as by ribbons 15 slidably received in the portion of leg 102a extending beyond the edge of arm 13. A pin 10'5 prevents ribbon 15 from being displaced from arm 102a.

While I have described preferred embodiments of my invention, it will be obvious that many. other modifications may be devised. Consequently I wish not to be limited by the foregoing description which was given only for purposes of illustration but on the contrary only to be limited by the claims granted to me.

What is claimed is:

1. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member, an elongated horizontal arm pivotally attached to said support member for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of spaced apart right angle actuating members each having a first leg rotatably mounted on said pivoting arm at an acute angle to said horizontal axis with the right angle intersection of each of said actuating members lying substantially on said horizontal axis, means for restricting movement of the second leg of said actuating members to respectively describe the surface of a segment of a right circular cone having their axes in a common plane fixed with respect to said support member and containing said horizontal axis and passing through the right angle intersection of actuating members upon rotation of each of said first legs, means for selectively pivoting said pivoting arm, vertical segmented louvers actuated by said actuating members whereby upon proper pivoting of said pivoting arm each of said vertical louvers are rotated for opening and closing the blind, each louver having a first segment coupled to each of said second legs of said actuating members, a series of interfitting segments for each louver with each segment of a height substantially identical to the height of said first segment, one segment of each of said series slidably mounted on each of said first segments, each segment of the remainder of said series of segments slidably mounted on its adjoining upper segment, cooperating means adjacent top and bottom edges of said segments to retain said first segment and said series of segments in fully extended position, means for raising the lowermost segment of each of said louvers for sliding said seg ments along adjoining segments in sequence from the lowermost segment upwardly so that the Venetian blind can be collapsed to a length of a single segment.

2. A vertical Venetian blind for controlling the amount of light passing through a window comprising an elongated horizontal support member adapted for pivotal movement about a longitudinal edge, a plurality of spaced apart substantially right angle actuating members each having a first leg rotatably mounted on said support member at an acute angle to the longitudinal pivoting edge thereof, means for restricting movement of a second leg of each of said actuating members to describe the surface of a segment of a right circular cone which has its axis at substantially 45 to the axis of said second leg and transverse to said pivoting edge of said support member and passing through the right angle intersection of its respective actuating members, means for selectively pivoting said support member, a vertical segmented louver actuated by each of said actuating members whereby upon proper pivoting of said support member said louvers are rotated for varying the openings between adjacent louvers, each louver having a first segment coupled to each of said second legs of said actuating members, a series of interfitting segments for each louver with each segment of a height substantially identical to the height of said first segment, one segment of each of said series slidably mounted on each of said first segments, each segment of the remainder of said series of segments slidably mounted on its adjoining upper segment, cooperating means adjacent top and bottom edges of said segments to retain said first segment and said series of segments in fully extended position, means for raising the lowermost segment of each of said louvers for sliding said segments along adjoining segments in sequence from the lowermost segment upwardly so that the Venetian blind can be collapsed to a length of a single segment.

3. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member, an elongated horizontal arm pivotally attached to said support member for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of spaced apart right angle actuating links of circular cross section, each of said actuating links having one of its legs rotatably mounted on said pivoting arm at an acute angle to said horizontal axis and having the right angle intersection of the legs thereof lie in a plane passing through said axis, a plurality of second arms each rotatably connected at one end to a corresponding other leg of each of said actuating links and having an edge adjacent said one end pivotally mounted to said support member along a line transverse to said axis and intersecting the right angle intersection of its cooperating actuating links so that upon pivoting said pivoting arm each of the other legs of said actuating links respectively describes a right circular cone having their axes in a common plane, means for pivoting said pivoting arm, vertically oriented segmented slats carried by each of said second arms, each of said segments of each of said slats movably mounted on its adjoining upper segment so that the Venetian blind can be raised to a height of a single segment and means for simultaneously raising said lowermost segment of each of said slats for collapsing said segments along their adjoining upper segment in sequence from the lowermost segment upwardly.

4. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member, an elongated horizontal arm pivotally attached to said support member for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of spaced apart right angle actuating links of circular cross section, each of said actuating links having one of its legs rotatably mounted on said pivoting arm at an acute angle to said axis and having the right angle intersection of the legs thereof lie in a plane passing through said axis, vertically oriented segmented slats carried by each of the other legs of said actuating links, means for selectively pivoting said pivoting arm so that said one leg of said actuating links is rotated and the other leg of said actuating links respectively describes a segment of a right circular cone having their axis in a common plane fixed with respect to said support member and passing through the right angle intersection of said actuating links, each of the segments of each of said vertical slats adapted for slidable movement on the adjoining upper segment so that said slats can be raised to a height of a single segment and means for raising the lowermost segment of each of said vertical slats and sliding said segments along their adjoining upper segment in sequence upwardly from the lowermost segment,

5. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member, an elongated horizontal arm pivotally attached to said support member for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of spaced apart right angle actuating members each having a first leg rotatably mounted on said pivoting arm at an acute angle to said axis with the right angle intersection of each of said actuating members lying substantially in a plane passing through said axis, means for restricting movement of the second leg of said actuating members to respectively describe the surface of a segment of a right circular cone in response to rotation of said first leg, means for selectively pivoting said pivoting arm, vertically oriented strips carried by each of said second legs of said actuating members whereby proper rotation of said pivoting arm rotates each of said second legs of said actuating members and said vertical strips mounted thereon for opening and closing the blind.

6. A vertical Venetian blind as claimed in claim 5 wherein said means for restricting movement of said second leg of said actuating members includes arms rotatably mounted on each of said second legs and having an adjacent edge pivotally mounted to said support member along a line transverse to said horizontal axis and containing the right angle intersection of its respective actuating member.

7. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member, an elongated horizontal arm pivotally attached to said support member for rotation about the longitudinal edge adjacent said support member, a plurality of parallel spaced-apart first shaft members rotatably mounted on a surface of said pivoting arm at an acute angle to the longitudinal edge of said pivoting arm adjacent said support member, each of said first shaft members having an end aligned with the edge of said pivoting arm adjacent said support member, a second shaft member attached at substantially right angles to each of said edge aligned ends of said first shaft members so that the point of intersection of each of said first and second shaft members lies substantially in a plane passing through the pivoting line between said support member and said pivoting arm, means for selectively pivoting said pivoting arm about said support member, and a vertical strip carried by each of said second shaft members whereby upon proper rotation of said pivoting arm each of said second shaft members and said vertical strips carried thereon are rotated.

8. A vertical Venetian blind for controlling the amount of light passing through a window comprising an elongated horizontal support member adapted for pivotal movement about a longitudinal edge, a plurality of spaced apart substantially right angle actuating members each having a first leg rotatably mounted on said support member at an acute angle to the longitudinal pivoting edge thereof, means for restricting movement of a second leg on each of said actuating members to describe the surface of a segment of a right circular cone which has its axis at substantially 45 to said second leg and transverse to said pivoting edge of said support member and passing through the right angle intersection of its respective actuating members, means for selectively pivoting said support member, a vertical strip carried by each of said second legs of said actuating members whereby upon proper rotation of said support member said vertical strips are rotated for varying the openings between adjacent strips.

' 9. A vertical Venetian blind for controlling the amount of light entering a window, comprising an elongated horizontal support member adapted for pivotal movement pivotally mounted in the upper portion of said window for pivoting movement about a horizontal edge, a plurality of parallel spaced apart first shaft members rotatably attached to said support member each at an acute angle to said pivoting edge with one end of each of said first shafts extending over said pivoted edge, a second shaft member attached at substantially right angles to the ends of each of said first shaft members extending over said pivoting edge so that the point of intersection of each of said first and second shaft members lies substantially in a plane passing through the pivoting line of said support member, means for pivoting said support member, and a vertical strip carried by each of said second shaft members whereby upon proper rotation of said support member said second shaft members and said vertical strips carried thereon are rotated.

10. A vertical Venetian blind as claimed in claim 9, wherein each of said vertical strips are segmented, each of said segments of each strip adapted for sliding movement with respect to an adjoining segment and means for sliding said segments of each of said strips in sequence for collapsing said blind.

11. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member, an elongated horizontal arm parallel to said support member and pivotally attached thereto for rotation about a horizontal axis, a plurality of spaced apart parallel right angle actuating links each having a first leg rotatably mounted on said support member at an acute angle to said horizontal axis, means for restricting movement of the second leg of said actuating links to sliding movement 'with respect to a surface of said pivoting arm upon said arm being pivoted, means for 10 selectively pivoting said pivoting arm, a vertical strip carried by each of said first legs of said actuating links whereby upon proper rotation of said pivoting arm each of said first legs of said actuating links and said vertical strips mounted thereon are rotated for opening and closing the blind.

12. A vertical Venetian blind comprising an elongated horizontal support member adapted for pivotal movement about a longitudinal edge, a plurality of spaced apart substantially right angle actuating members each having a first leg mounted for sliding movement on a surface of said support member upon said support member being pivoted, means for rotatably supporting the second leg of each of said actuating members at an acute angle to said longitudinal pivoting edge of said support member, means for selectively pivoting said support member, a vertical strip carried by each of said second legs of said actuating members whereby upon proper pivoting of said support member each of said vertical strips are rotated.

13. Apparatus for rotating uniformly a plurality of parallel members comprising an elongated arm transverse to the axes of said parallel members and adjacent one end thereof, said arm adapted to be pivoted about a longitudinal edge, a plurality of parallel right angle actuating members each having a first leg rotatably mounted on said elongated arm and the right angle intersection lying in a plane passing through the pivoting axis of said elongated member, said first leg of each of said actuating members lying at an acute angle to said pivoting line, means for restricting movement of a second leg of each of said actuating members to define the surface of a segment of a right circular cone having its axis at substantially 45 to said second leg and transverse to said pivoting line and passing through the right angle intersection of its respective actuating member, and means linking each of said second legs of said actuating members to their respective adjacent parallel members whereby upon said elongated arm being pivoted said second leg and said parallel members are rotated uniformly.

14. A collapsible vertical Venetian blind comprising a horizontally disposed support member, a plurality of identical segmented slats vertically disposed in spaced arrangement, said slats being adapted to be rotated in a horizontal direction for adjusting the light entry angle between adjacent slats means operatively interconnecting each of said slats with said support member for rotating said slats, said segments of said slats being of substantially identical height, a flexible strip smaller in width than said segments disposed along the longitudinal axis of each of said segments on front and rear surfaces thereof, clamping means secured to upper and lower edges alternately on front and rear surfaces of each of said intermediate segments for cooperating within a respective strip to interlock adjoining segments of each slat, said clamps on an upper and lower edge of adjoining segments of each slat slidably engaging a respective strip so that upon said slats being in fully extended position said clamps on the same relative surface and adjoining segments abut, means for raising the lowermost segment of each slat substantially simultaneously for collapsing said segment of each slat in sequence from the bottom to the top regardless of the angular displacement of the adjacent slats.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 643,307 Schmitt Feb. 13, 1900 847,143 Wyss Mar. 12, 1907 1,013,417 McIntosh Jan. 2, 1912 2,707,910 Tillots-on May 10, 1955 2,755,854 McIntire July 24, 1956 2,891,613 Latham June 23, 1959 

1. A VERTICAL VENETIAN BLIND COMPRISING AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL SUPPORT MEMBER, AN ELONGATED HORIZONTAL ARM PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID SUPPORT MEMBER FOR ROTATION ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS, A PLURALITY OF SPACED APART RIGHT ANGLE ACTUATING MEMBERS EACH HAVING A FIRST LEG ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID PIVOTING ARM AT AN ACUTE ANGLE TO SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS WITH THE RIGHT ANGLE INTERSECTION OF EACH OF SAID ACTUATING MEMBERS LYING SUBSTANTIALLY ON SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS, MEANS FOR RESTRICTING MOVEMENT OF THE SECOND LEG OF SAID ACTUATING MEMBERS TO RESPECTIVELY DESCRIBE THE SURFACE OF A SEGMENT OF A RIGHT CIRCULAR CONE HAVING THEIR AXES IN A COMMON PLANE FIXED WITH RESPECT TO SAID SUPPORT MEMBER AND CONTAINING SAID HORIZONTAL AXIS AND PASSING THROUGH THE RIGHT ANGLE INTERSECTION OF ACTUATING MEMBERS UPON ROTATION OF EACH OF SAID FIRST LEGS, MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY PIVOTING SAID PIVOTING ARM, VERTICAL SEGMENTED LOUVERS ACTUATED BY SAID ACTUATING MEMBERS WHEREBY UPON PROPER PIVOTING OF SAID PIVOTING ARM EACH OF SAID VERTICAL LOUVERS ARE ROTATED FOR OPENING AND CLOSING THE BLIND, EACH LOUVER HAVING A FIRST SEGMENT COUPLED TO EACH OF SAID SECOND LEGS OF SAID ACTUATING MEMBERS, A SERIES OF INTERFITTING SEGMENTS FOR EACH LOUVER WITH EACH SEGMENT OF A HEIGHT SUBSTANTIALLY IDENTICAL TO THE HEIGHT OF SAID FIRST SEGMENT, ONE SEGMENT OF EACH OF SAID SERIES SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID FIRST SEGMENTS, EACH SEGMENT OF THE REMAINDER OF SAID SERIES OF SEGMENTS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON ITS ADJOINING UPPER SEGMENT, COOPERATING MEANS ADJACENT TOP AND BOTTOM EDGES OF SAID SEGMENTS TO RETAIN SAID FIRST SEGMENT AND SAID SERIES OF SEGMENTS IN FULLY EXTENDED POSITION, MEANS FOR RAISING THE LOWERMOST SEGMENT OF EACH OF SAID LOUVERS FOR SLIDING SAID SEGMENTS ALONG ADJOINING SEGMENTS IN SEQUENCE FROM THE LOWERMOST SEGMENT UPWARDLY SO THAT THE VENETIAN BLIND CAN BE COLLAPSED TO A LENGTH OF A SINGLE SEGMENT. 